I figured it’s about time to give you all an update on my health, so we’re all on the same page when it comes to my workload this year. I’ve got a case of bad news/good news, so let’s start with the bad news first.
Since I made the initial announcement in spring, my health took a nosedive for months, particularly since I’m dealing with some severe anemia. The good news is, I’m going to get a major surgery done in September to fix the issue, and my doctor estimates that by December I should be doing much better!
I knew I was eventually going to get this surgery. Initially the doctor was hoping I’d be able to hold off for a year or two, but my health problems are so bad the surgery is necessary right now. (The only reason I’m not getting it done sooner is I have a vacation in August that I couldn’t reschedule and I’ve been planning for it since 2019.) The anemia is bad enough that it’s throwing a little extra danger into the surgery and I might have to get some follow up treatments. But any problems will be temporary, and I’m taking some preventative measures. (One of those measures is that I’m taking enough iron supplements to become ironman. It does have the unexpected side effect of making me hiccup, though, so if you hear me hiccupping a lot during Sheacon, that’s why!)
The one downside to all of this, is my three remaining teeth surgeries are getting pushed off into 2023 as a result of the major surgery and anemia issue. It’s too dangerous to schedule them in 2022. So my health saga will continue into 2023, but I should be able to bounce back faster from those once I get over the anemia. (The anemia recovery is an estimated three to six months, but I’m hoping to be on the shorter end of that spectrum.)
What does this mean for us? At this point, not much has changed. I’m still on schedule to release the next Magiford trilogy, but I won’t get the opportunity to work on Retha #4 this year now that I have the big surgery in September eating a large chunk of my time, so I have no idea when Retha will launch in 2023. (Spoiler: It will probably be later than we all wanted. But it is STILL the next non-Magiford book I’m going to work on next!)
This summer and spring have been the pits for me. I’ve never been so frustrated with myself before because there’s so much I can’t do anymore. But! I’m glad I know there is an end, and I’m so thankful it can be solved with a surgery.
Thanks for hanging in with me, Champions. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate our supportive and encouraging community. Thank you so much for all the supportive emails, snail mail, and the gifts! I’m kind of in a weird place, so you all made me cry a lot, but it’s because I’m so, so thankful for you! Your encouragement has lifted my spirits, and you’ve been so understanding even though I currently have the bristly personality of a disgruntled porcupine right now.
Also, a huge thank you to the KM Shea team–Like Meg, my assistant; Vin, the Director of Discord; Jocelyn, Megen, and Sarah, the Facebook Group Champion Leaders; and Cindy and all of the Sheacon planners–who’ve been working hard to keep things running during this time. You guys are the best!
Ending on the positive side, there WILL be an end to this, and once I’m through it we’re going to have so much fun!